Ditching machine



June 10, 1924.

w. M ME ANS DITCHING MACHINE Filed Feb. 17, 19.21 3 Shana-Shoa Jun 10 1924. I

- W. MCMEANS DITCHING MACHINE Filed Feb. 17. 1921 3 Shooter-Sheet 2 Patented June 10, 1924..

UNETEQ STATES- WILLIAM MGMEANS, OF WEST LIBERTY, IOWA.

DITC-HING MACHINE.

Application filed February 17, 1921 Serial No. 445,695.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLI M MGMEANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Liberty, in the county of Muscatine and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ditching Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be full,.clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will, enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in ditching machines generally, particularly to that type for forming a trenchor excavation for receiving tiling or conduits for draining or other purposes.

The invention has for its objection to carry out that end or purpose in a ready, simple, effective and inexpensive manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide for both readily actuating or rotating the trench-forming or excavating instruinentality or auger and to provide for the ready adjustment of said instrumentality in positioning the same in performing the trench-forming or excavating operation and the readjustment of said instrumentality at the beginning and end of a trench-forming or excavating operation.

The invention consists therefore of certain instrumentalities and features of construction substantially as hereinafter more fully disclosed and specifically pointed out by the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment, or one form of my invention wherein it will be understood that various changes and modifications as relate to the detailed construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as covered by the claims, and in which drawings:

1 Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention.

Fig. 2 is, an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of certain details thereof.

Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view, also upon an enlarged scale, showing more particularly the type of gear and rack adjusting arrangement of the trench-excavating instrumentality.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a detail of the type of; leverand gear; adjustingmechanism of the excavating instrumfintality or anger,

Fig. 5 is an elevational View of'another form of the lever and geara-dj-usting arrangement of the auger; orexcavating instrument-ality which may be employed, requiring, however, reversing of the engine or motor to vertically adjust the auger.

Fig. 6 isa fragmentalview of the auger or excavating instrumentality.

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of; a coggedpinion and link-form of belt connection which, together with other elements, provide for the actuation or rotationof the trench-cutting from. the motor.

In carrying out or practicing my invention, I provide a suitable. upright frameinstrumentality or auger work or structure generally designated by Y the reference character 1-, preferably mounted or secured upon a carrying frame 2 in turn, preferably mounted at its fowardend similarly as an automobile front steering axle and wheels, or running gear, as 3, said carrying frame being mounted at its rear end upon wheels and axle 4.

Suitably supported or disposed in a pref-.-

erabl-y forwardly and upwardly inclined position within the frame-structures 1, 2, is a trench-forming or excavating instrumentality or auger E. its rear lower excavating end being carried axially as at 5, upon the suitably-securedetogether convergent ends of the rod or bar members K of a hanger K. The divergent :upper'ends of the bar or rod members K are loosely sleeved upon, and depend from a shaft I, the latter thus being free to. rotate within said rod orbar members for a purpose as will presently be seen. a I

A suitable shield or hood E, as indicated in Fig. 1 is provided for holding the dirt of excavation, as it is elevated, by the, auger or trench-forming instrumentality, hood or Shield being suitably secured in position, as also indicated by dotted lines, at e in connection with the auger, said hood also, in practice, being equipped for dissaid charging the elevated dirt out of the line effective in elevating the excavated dirt; also said auger is armed at the resultant salient spiral or serpentine edges thereof with a corresponding continuous arrange ment of separate blades or diggers f which are detachably secured in place so as to be readily removed and sharpened when this may become desirable, or replaced by others, as in the renewal of said blades.

form of a rook-drill; in that case the blades would be formed with blunt edges to adapt the same for reaming out or boring through the rock.

The upright-members of the frame 1 are cast or provided with longitudinal or vertical channels or grooves L each of the bottoms of which channels is provided with a plurality of cog teeth forming racks F as clearly shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3; also each of the channels or grooves has one wall spaced or positioned off from the plurality of the cog teeth or rack, thus forming a flange or guard as at M, the opposite wall of said channel also having a flange M overlying, but spaced off from said teeth or rack, as seen in Fig. 3, the purpose of the aforesaid flanged structures will be apparent hereinafter.

The auger or trench-forming instrumentality E has a shaft and bevel-geared connection as at E with a bevel-gear B, carried by a shaft 13 through which said trench-forming instrumentality is directly actuated, said shaft B being supported or journaled in the frame 1 and shown in this instance driven by suitable belting and pulleys C, C, C C C C C or otherwise from a motor D mounted upon the carrying frame 2, thus constituting the source from which the auger is actuated. The shaft E of the auger E is suitably supported in a hanger member 9 freely supported from the shaft B. The carrying frame 1 is also adapted to receive movement, or be propelled, from the motor D, the latter having a belt-and-pulley-connection D D D with a shaft N intergeared as at O, O with a shaft J, the latter and the rear axle 4 of the carrying-frame transporting-wheels being suitably intergeared by a worm P on theshaftand a toothed or cog gear P on said axle. In lieu of the belt D and pulley D, I may use a link-belt Q and cogpinion Q. Referring again to the trench-forming 'mstrumentality or auger, I provide forits yertical adjustment by arranging in con unction with the previously described shafts 1 and B, a plurality of additional shafts A and H, intergeared therewith as at A, A A A, D said additional shafts bemg suitably journaled upon the upright frame 1, and provided with cogged pinions G engagmg or meshing with the racks F.

Also, it is noted that the auger may be made in the 1,&98,815

of the channeled members of said frame. Preferably circular members or disks S are formed upon the cog or pinion-equipped shafts A, l, H, to guard the pinions from frictional contact with the channeled uprights of the frame 1, and ret'ain the teeth of the cogs in effective register or engagement with the racks, the flanges M retaining the guards or disks S against lateral displacement or movement and the flanges M forming peripheral bearings for the shaft-guards S. In order to effect the shift ing or adjustment of the auger or trenchforming instrumentality, I provide a handact-uated lever T suitably fulcrumed in position as at V, Figs. 2 and 4:, upon a bearing U of the shaft of reversing gears V, V, arranged so as to be alternately or selectively engaged by a gear W under the control of the lever I, in positioning the anger as may be required in withdrawing or lifting it from its trench-cutting position or lower ing it into such position, as is readily appreciated. The lever T is provided with the usual retaining finger-actuated pawl T having engagement with a notched, preferably arcuate bracket or quadrant T suitably secured in position as shown for the retention of the lever at the required point of adjustment. Of course, in effecting the vertical adjustment of the auger or trenchfcrming instrumentality, this is done through suitably bringing into requisition the intergeared pinions G and racks F by requisitely manipulating the lever T, as indicated.

In 2, it will be noted that I arrange in connection, and intergear with the shaft- H and a second shaft H*, by means of gear G and worms G a transverse shaft H, for operating the vertically adjusting mechanism for the anger or trench-forming instrumentality, the shafts H and H being suitably mounted in bearings h and h supported upon the frame-structure 1. Said shaft H is also intergeared as at H H with a shaft 72, the latter shaft being supported in hanger-bearings 7L through which extends the shaft H.

I claim:

1. A machine of the type described, including a trench-digging auger, carrying means for said auger, means for suspending said auger at its rear end, means for suspending said anger at its forward end, said suspending means comprising intergeared shafts arranged upon said carrying means, said auger-carrying means being provided with racks with which are geared said intergeared shafts, and means for actuating said intergeared shafts for effecting the vertical adjustment of said auger by means of said racks.

2. A machine of the type described, including a trench-digging instrumentality,

- for slipping said intergeared shafts into and out of gear with said racks, comprising a gear, a lever to actuate said gear, a counter shaft provided with gearing means by said lever-actuated gear, said counter shaft adapted to be engaged with said racks. 10

I11 testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

WILLIAM McMEANS. 

